


nice work, kid

by luladannys



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-12-10 10:30:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11689788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luladannys/pseuds/luladannys
Summary: Without knowing it, Tony Stark helps a young Peter Parker grieve the death of his parents. Ten years later, Aunt May, furious as she is when she finds out Peter's secret and Tony Stark's part in it, can't forget that.





	nice work, kid

**2007**

After the funeral, Ben and May can finally fully focus on moving Peter in with them. They get kid-friendly furniture off of craigslist – a bunk bed and a bookcase and a dresser. None of it matches, but it was all free, which for two people who have suddenly and unexpectedly had a child put into their care is what is really important.

Ben has started cleaning out Richard and Mary’s house, starting with Peter’s room both because he wants Peter to have his familiar belongings in his new home and because it is the easiest room, emotionally. May feels bad that he is doing this mostly on his own, but Peter understandably does not want to go to the house he used to share with his parents, so May stays with him while Ben takes care of it. Peter’s stuff is brought over and most everything else is put into storage. Ben and May figure they’ll let Peter go through it all when he’s older.

Of all the toys in the boxes Ben has brought home, the only one Peter is interested in is a plastic Iron Man mask. He pulls the elastic strap around the back of his head and ignores everything else.

He wears the mask everywhere, a little Iron Man clinging onto either Ben or May’s hand at all times. May isn’t sure he holds their hands so tight because he’s afraid of losing them too or because he has a hard time seeing where he’s going in the mask. Perhaps it’s a bit of both.

One day they’re at the grocery store and the cashier leans over the counter to ask Peter if Iron Man is his favorite superhero (a much easier question to answer during that time when there weren’t nearly as many superheroes to choose from) and Peter nods and says, “He lost his mommy and daddy in a crash, too.” May and Ben have no idea where he learned that, but Peter is a smart kid so he probably read it somewhere. The cashier doesn’t quite know what to say after that, but Peter leaves with a lollipop in his mouth under the mask and several more in his pants pockets.

May has been reading about childhood grief, but even she doesn’t need an expert to tell her that her nephew is using his mask to hide himself from this scary new world he’s found himself in. He takes it off to eat and to sleep and sometimes to watch TV, but one time when he did that he must have felt May looking at his face from the kitchen so he pulled it back on and scooted closer to the screen so he could see it through the rectangular eye holes.

It worries Ben and May, especially as the start of a new school year approaches. May buys Peter an Iron Man backpack, lunch box, and thermos that she hopes will work as a substitute for when she and Ben have to tell him that he won’t be able to wear his mask to school.

It is a conversation they have been putting off, but Ben comes up with an idea for the best time to finally do it. He manages to get all three of them passes to the Stark Expo. Peter loves Iron Man and all that STEM stuff that will be on display. Tony Stark himself will be there to give a speech and they can tell Peter, “Look, even Iron Man takes off his mask sometimes.”

Now that May has a five year old boy in her care she isn’t really a fan of the scantily-clad dancers in red and gold outfits that share the stage with Tony Stark, but Ben leans over and whispers, “Don’t act like you wouldn’t be up there if they gave you the chance.” She swats him on the arm, but they both know that he isn’t wrong.

When the expo erupts into chaos as it is attacked by fleets of giant robots, May feels Peter’s hand slip from hers and she screams, fighting back against the crowd of people fleeing from the convention center. They can’t lose Peter, too.

She had heard stories about how mothers have this reserve of crazy super strength that comes out when their kid is trapped under a car or something, but she doesn’t believe it until she has pushed her way through a stampede of people, leaving Ben behind in her dust as she searches for her nephew.

She makes it outside, calling Peter’s name over and over. Then she finally spots him, in his hoodie and Iron Man mask, just standing there staring up at one of the rogue robots. She’s running, faster than she ever thought she had the ability to, and Peter raises his hand up at the robot, the light from his toy Iron Man thruster or pulse beam or whatever-the-fuck-its-called pointed at the metal behemoth. A machine gun comes out of the robot’s shoulder and points directly at him. Tears are flowing down May’s face as she pushes herself even harder, but she knows – she _knows_ – that she’s still too far away, oh God she won’t make it in time.

Iron Man swiftly lands behind Peter and blasts the robot down. Peter jumps and watches as Iron Man launches back into the sky and disappears overhead. May finally reaches him and scoops him up, not even breaking her stride and continuing running until they’re under somewhere covered, safe and far away from killer robots.

Peter whips off his mask and is beaming at her.

“Aunt May! Aunt May! Did you see?”

_Did she see?!_ May knows right now that try as she might, that sight is one she will never forget.

“I blasted him! Iron Man said ‘nice work’! I helped Iron Man, Aunt May!”

May lets out a sob full of too many emotions for her to even comprehend and hugs Peter tightly to her, one hand supporting his body and the other on the back of his head as he returns it with his legs around her torso and his arms around her neck.

Ben finds them and Peter relates his version of what happened. Ben gives May a look and she just mouths the word “later” to him. For now what is important is that Peter is safe.

He carries his mask the whole way home and when they get there he hangs it on his wall. They never end up having to have that talk with him about wearing it to school.

 

**2017**

May has this manic look in her eyes, hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles are white, as she follows the directions Peter has reluctantly given her to the new Avengers facility upstate. The car is absolutely silent. The radio isn’t even on.

Peter wants to text Mr. Stark, let him know that there is a madwoman on the way to murder him, but he knows that pulling out his phone is not in his best interest right now. There’s a security gate and May’s mouth tightens and Peter can tell that she is one hundred percent ready to slam on the gas to try to break through it. He reaches over and places his hand on her arm.

“Just pull up to the gate. I’ll give you my password.”

“You have a _password_ to the _Avengers facility_?” May asks through gritted teeth.

Peter knows that by the time they pull up the driveway to the big glass building that Mr. Stark will have been made aware of their arrival. He supposes that any warning is better than no warning at all. May has the car in park, the keys out of the ignition, and is slamming her door shut in less than two seconds. Peter scrambles to follow after her.

The only person in sight when they walk in the door is Miss Hill, who Peter has only met in passing once. She does not even stop walking and before May can say a word, she presses a finger to the earpiece she’s wearing and says, “Tony, you better get down here.”

When Mr. Stark strolls into view on the second level, he’s trying to remain nonchalant but Peter can tell that Tony Stark is afraid of Aunt May, which is completely understandable because she is already marching up the stairs to meet him, yelling about how Peter is just a kid and how could he condone this and what if something had happened.

Peter stands behind May and gives Mr. Stark a sympathetic look over her shoulder. Mr. Stark has his hands in his pockets and is quiet, letting May yell at him and nodding every so often. After several minutes, which feel like much longer to Peter, May stops and puts her hands on her hips.

“Are you going to say _anything_?” she demands.

“Well, all the points you make are valid. Why don’t you and I take a walk, May? Peter, you can go annoy Happy or say hi to Pepper or something.”

Peter is hesitant to leave his aunt and his mentor alone, but Mr. Stark makes a _shoo!_ gesture, so he turns back down the stairs and heads in the direction that Miss Hill had gone, looking back at May and Mr. Stark over his shoulder several times before leaving the room.

He finds Pepper, Miss Hill, and Colonel Rhodes together in an office.

“You alright, kid?” Colonel Rhodes asks him.

“I think my aunt is gonna kill Mr. Stark.”

Miss Hill laughs a little and immediately tries to cover it up by clearing her throat. Pepper just smiles warmly at Peter.

“Believe me, Tony has a way of talking himself out of just about anything. Don’t worry about him,” she says. “Come on, Rhodey and I will show you around. I’ve been dying to meet you and James needs his walking for the day.”

So Peter gets a tour of the Avengers facility with Pepper Potts and War Machine (Iron Patriot? No, War Machine sounds a lot cooler), which on any other day he would be totally geeking about, but he knows that somewhere on these grounds May is probably telling Mr. Stark that Peter can’t be a superhero anymore.

And he knows that if that is what May decides that there’s no way he can say no to her.

* * *

It’s been nearly two hours when May and Mr. Stark return. Peter looks between them with wide eyes, waiting to hear the verdict.

“You can still be Spider-Man,” May says, though there is still some evident reluctance in her voice.

Peter throws his arms around her and spins her excitedly.

“Oh, thank you, May, thankyouthankyouthankyou!”

He puts her down and she pushes her glasses back into place. “There are going to be rules, though, young man. And if those rules are not followed, then Mr. Stark understands that your… _hero-ing_ privileges will be taken away.”

“Yes, I understand,” Peter nods vigorously. “Of course!”

Mr. Stark gives Pepper a look and then the CEO of Stark Industries is offering Aunt May a drink, which she has no hesitation in accepting. The two women depart together.

Mr. Stark claps a hand on Peter’s shoulder and steers him towards Colonel Rhodes.

“Rhodey, you know this kid has practically been an Avenger since he was five years old?”

Peter feels heat rush into his face.

“May told you about –”

“About how you helped me at the Stark Expo, yes she did,” Mr. Stark smiles. “What’s surprising is that _you_ never told me because, no offense, but you’re a bit of a motormouth.”

“I-It’s-I don’t-,” Peter stumbles for a response.

“She told me everything,” Mr. Stark says and Peter can tell by the look on his face that he really does mean _everything_. He hadn’t thought it was possible for his face to get even hotter, but somehow it does. He’s probably as red as his suit. “She made me promise to keep you as safe now as I did on that night ten years ago. But I can’t keep that promise alone, okay?”

Peter nods. “Yes, Mr. Stark. I understand.”

“Good. Now, let’s go find some rooms for you and your aunt because I have a feeling May won’t be able to drive home tonight.”


End file.
